fabric

noun fab·ric \ ˈfa-brik \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of fabric

1 a : structure, building

b : underlying structure : framework

the fabric of society

2 : an act of constructing : erection; specifically : the construction and maintenance of a church building

3 a : structural plan or style of construction

b : texture, quality —used chiefly of textiles

c : the arrangement of physical components (as of soil) in relation to each other

4 a : cloth 1a

b : a material that resembles cloth

5 : the appearance or pattern produced by the shapes and arrangement of the crystal grains in a rock

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Examples of fabric in a Sentence

The curtains are made of expensive fabric.
scarves made of woven fabrics
the fabric of the community

Recent Examples of fabric from the Web

In some instances, his innovations also compromised the actual fabric of the clothes.

— hamish bowles, Vogue, "Was Charles James Fashion’s Most Unreasonable Man? A New Biography Makes the Case," 5 Apr. 2018
The master bedroom is covered in pineapples—a motif that repeats on the matching fabric of the curtains and bed canopy.

— kathleen renda, House Beautiful, "A Spanish Bungalow Is Reimagined with Artistic Prints and Patterns," 2 Apr. 2018
This, in microcosm, is how his death changed it — and how violence rends the fabric of history.

— rick hampson, USA TODAY, "The Witness: Clara Ester, the Lorraine Motel and the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.," 20 Mar. 2018
But for Keenan Evans, Texas Tech's superstar All-American guard from Richardson Berkner, that gene is as prevalent in his DNA as tortillas are to the fabric of Red Raiders lore.

— william wilkerson, star-telegram, "Evans' electric second half secures Texas Tech's victory, subdues SFA's upset aspirations | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 15 Mar. 2018
Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure.

— Fox News, "Stephen Hawking, famed physicist, dead at 76," 14 Mar. 2018
Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure.

— sarah rense, Esquire, "Here on Earth, Celebrities Wish Stephen Hawking a Place Among the Stars," 14 Mar. 2018
Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure.

— lars brandle, Billboard, "Professor Stephen Hawking Dead: World Leaders, Celebs and Musicians React," 14 Mar. 2018
Cast turnover is part of the fabric of the series, going all the way back to Isaiah Washington's shocking departure at the end of season three.

— lauren hoffman, Cosmopolitan, "Can Grey's Anatomy Survive the Latest Cast Shakeup?," 13 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fabric.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of fabric

borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French fabrique "act of construction, something created or constructed, the created world, structure, construction and maintenance of a church," borrowed from Medieval Latin fabrica, going back to Latin, "process of making something, craft, art, workshop," noun derivative from *fabricus "of a craftsman," from fabr-, faber "craftsman, smith" (perhaps going back to dialectal Indo-European *dhabh-r- —perhaps of non-Indo-European origin— whence also Armenian darbin "smith," from *dhabh-r-sneh₂) + -icus ¹-ic

Note: The Latin derivative fabrica may have been shortened from fabrica ars, perhaps literally "smith's craft, smith's place of work." The base *dhabh-r- has been compared with Gothic gadaban "to happen, be suitable" and a host of related words (see daft), though the semantic link is tenuous.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year